


gloriosa

by claudius



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, me in the middle of november: hey. summer carnival fic is a good idea and totally seasonal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 15:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8583610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/claudius/pseuds/claudius
Summary: a summer carnival and where your smile brightens up the whole world





	

_"... A 'carnival'?"_

_Natsume narrowed his eyes at the flyer that was unceremoniously shoved in his face. He didn't have an interest for such activities, he would claim, though in truth he had never been to a carnival (or any sort of exhibition at that) in a long while. He had vague memories of them, ones he went to with his mother when he was very young. Where she would entertain people with fortune telling, or simple magic tricks._

_... Which is probably why he had such little memories of them._

_"Yeah! Carnivals are like... shining and shimmering! Sparkling in colors of all kinds!"  Leo exclaimed, eyes twinkling with enthusiasm as he leaned closer with paper in hand._

_"And.. you want to invite 'me'? Wouldn't someone be better for 'this'?"_

_"Uwah?! Do you not want to go, Natsu?!"_

_"N-" He sighed. ".. I'll 'go'."_

* * *

He thought back to that conversation, berating himself a bit for not wearing something shorter as the sun was beating down on him. Leo was late, no surprise there. But Natsume didn't want to move from where they were supposed to meet in worry Leo would show up minutes later, and think he didn't come. Thankfully, Lady Luck happened to be on his side when he heard someone calling out for him among the crowd.

"NAAA~TSU!!!!" 

The second he turned around he was greeted with a hug that almost made him fall over, and an all too familiar cackle rang through his ears.

"I'm so glad you came!! Wahahaha!!" Leo shouted, hugging Natsume closer with a grin.

Admittedly, Natsume needed so,  _so_ much physical contact and thankfully Leo was there to provide.. though he wasn't always good with returning it, as he leaned into the hug with his face pressed against Leo's shoulder. He still was a bit unsure if he was the right person to invite for this sort of event, but he knew one thing, and it was difficult to say no to Leo.

( _especially_ when he pulled that awful puppy pout- are you asking for natsume to die?)

Soon enough, Leo let go- much to his disappointment- but quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him along to the carnival. Leo began to ramble on about how fun it'll be and he'll show Natsume everything, though his face was turned, he knew there was a smile on his face... and it made him smile a tiny bit too.

The carnival was filled with people, all of them chattering about things Natsume wasn't necessarily interested in. Occasionally, Leo would quite literally drag him over to anything that caught his eye, he was almost glowing with excitement whenever he pointed something out to Natsume- with a bright smile stuck on his face as he did so. By how Leo talked and acted, it was clear that he had been to a carnival in the past.. probably with his unit members, or maybe with his sister.

"Ah, Natsu, Natsu! You haven't been talking much!" Leo snapped him out of his thoughts, looking back at him with a concerned expression.

Natsume felt a tiny bit guilty for that. "I'm 'fine', don't 'worry'."

"Are ya sure?" Leo turned to face him completely. "If you need anything, you can always tell me of course! We're friends!"

They had stopped somewhere outside of the wave of people, Leo staring- well attempting to- seriously at Natsume. His concern was not ignored, but he couldn't help but laugh at the expression Leo was making.

"Really, I am 'fine'." Natsume insisted, letting go of his hand to pinch his cheeks. "Let's not our time standing 'here'."

Leo made a small noise at being pinched suddenly, and huffed once Natsume let go, immediately grabbing his hand when he could.

"Alright! I'm gonna find you a place you'll love, just wait!"

Natsume laughed a bit as he was pulled off once again. He knew how determined Leo could get, and it was a little cute in all honesty... and if Natsume ever wanted to be honest (which, with this, he wasn't. ever.), Leo was _always_ cute. To him at least.

What soon pulled him out of his thoughts was Leo calling his name, and realizing they had stopped walking. He looked up to the attraction they were in front of- a... house? No, not an actual house, it was all sorts of colors, decorated in lights and intricate paintings, he saw people going in one side and coming out the other while laughing. When he looked at Leo, all he saw was excitement and.. mischief in his eyes. 

_Which was sort of worrying._

"A fun house! Look at it, Natsu! It's all sparkly n' stuff!!" He exclaimed, viewing it as if it were an otherworldly relic. "C'mon, we're going in!"

Before he could protest, Leo pulled him along. For the most part, it was child's play, obstacles here and there, and Leo was sure having a lot of fun to the point where Natsume almost worried that he'd break something inside. It was when they got to the mirror room that he finally changed his tune.

Hearing Natsume start to laugh, Leo immediately spun around to see him pointing at the mirror he was once looking at. His head in the reflection was huge while his body became a stick, making him look incredibly uncomfortable had it been real.

"Y- you look.. s-so 'ridiculous!'" 

"Bwah! Look at yourself!!"

He looked at the mirror behind him, seeing his reflection had gone all bendy and out of shape, which was enough to make Leo cackle and it echoed throughout the room. Eventually the two of them dissolved into childish laughter in the mirror room, even still giggling when they made it to the exit. Though the smile on Natsume's face never left and he went to take Leo's hand in his. Leo was surprised for a minute, but squeezed his hand and smiled back at him.

"Soooo, d'ya like the carnival, Natsu?" He then asked, leaning close to the other's face which Natsume then out of habit pushed away- much to his disappointment.

"It is.... fun 'here'. I'm glad you invited 'me'." Natsume paused for a minute. ".. If it's 'alright', I'd like to come here again with 'you'."

His response was enough to make Leo light up, as he practically jumped on the other for a hug.. and this time, they fell over too. Though Natsume ignored whatever pain he felt in favor of Leo's happy cackling and the large grin he knew the other had.

"I'm really glad!! I wanted to go somewhere I love with someone I love a loooot~ I'll take you as many times as you want, Natsu!!" 

That was something he couldn't ignore, though. "T-that's... don't say things like 'that'. You're 'embarrassing'."

"Wahahaha!!! I love you a lot, a lot, Natsuuuuu!!"

"Leo, I- I am 'serious'!"

"I love youuuuuu!!!!"

. . .

By the time they had seen all there was to see, and Leo pushing Natsume on every ride the both of them could fit on, it had gotten dark. Leo was determined to win a stuffed animal for his unit members ( _'loook!! that one looks like suo, so i gotta get it! and that one looks like naru, too!'_ ), but even more determined to win a big stuffed cat for himself.. well, he _said_ it's for Ruka, but Natsume knew otherwise. He was assigned carrying the 'plush knights', as Leo called them, while he carried the cat with glee written all over his face.

Leo had insisted he walk home with Natsume, even though Natsume kept saying he would be fine on his own, that his magic would protect him. But Leo started to pout and he was much too weak for that.

"Natsu, look." He pointed back to the carnival. "It's all lit up now!"

When he turned to see, his eyes widened at the bright neon lights, like Leo said, it was sparkling in all kinds of colors, something that reminded him a lot of his own magic. 

"Isn't it amazing? So many colors! At such an amazing place! If I could, I'd live here forever!" Leo's voice barely made it to Natsume's ears, not that he minded, seeing his closest friend in amazement was something he loved, as it didn't happen often.

And when Natsume looked at Leo with the happiest smile of his own, it felt like the saturation of the world increased.

**Author's Note:**

> alternatively called the fic where colors are mentioned too much bc i love neon lights and carnivals are so shiny & colorful  
> i like, totally forgot how natsume spoke for the longest time thank u so much brain of mine. playing me like that.


End file.
